With the US space probe New Horizons, which made the first in the history of space exploration trip to the Pluto , the Earth passed color photos of the dwarf planet. The photos were taken with a probe distance of 113 million km, can be viewed at the NASA.
NASA Associate Director of Scientific Affairs John Gransfeld reports that managed to take a picture of the ice cap at the North Pole of the celestial body. In other images recorded large moon of Pluto – Charon.
“As we approach the device to Pluto, we begin to notice the intriguing details like bright spot near the visible pole of this mysterious planet” – Daily results Mail words of John Gransfelda.
According to him, the picture may have captured ice polar cap. In other images could see the largest moon of Pluto – Charon, but the other four, smaller size, while “left-overs”.
“After nine years of traveling New Horizons amazing to watch as Pluto which seems to point, when we look at it from the earth, taking concrete shape right before our eyes – said the scientific director of the project, a member of the Southwest Research Institute Alan Stern. – The first detailed images of the planet show that it has a complex surface “.
Scientists hope that on 15 July 2015 when the New Horizons will pass at a distance of 12.5 thousand. km of Pluto, they will get a new unique information. After a rapprochement with Pluto probe goes beyond the orbit of Neptune – to other objects in the Kuiper belt.
“You can not even imagine what discoveries await us next summer” – said the employee of the University Applied Physics Laboratory Hal Weaver of Johns Hopkins. In this lab was built a unique device, take a trip 19 January 2006 and since then has overcome in the space of about 5 billion kilometers. Now he came to the finish line and must fly at a minimum distance of Pluto in July this year.
It should be noted that the mission of New Horizons, NASA which cost more than $ 600 million, began nine years ago – machine launched into space January 19, 2006.
Note Pluto was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer in 1930. He was considered the ninth planet of the solar system until 2006 after verification sizes has not been declared a dwarf. The diameter of Pluto – about 3 thousand. Km, while the diameter of the moon is about 3.5 thousand. Km.
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